DREAMS ARCHIVE: JULY 1999

"NEW ME"

I saw the back of my head. Most of my hair was gone. The only hair that remained was soft and fine -- consistent with hair that grows back after radiation therapy or chemotherapy. I looked into the mirror and stared at my face, which looked swollen and puffy. I had a hard time accepting the "new me."

"GOL!"

I played a game of soccer. The field of play was my grade school's parking lot. I dribbled the ball down the field of play and kicked the ball past the goalie and into the goal. When I kicked the ball, I thought I kicked it a little high -- I thought I should have kicked the top of the ball to keep it low. Nonetheless, I scored a goal.

"UNDERGROUND ANTICIPATION"

I watched a Wild, Wild West trailer -- the current theatrical release. In a red-walled train car, a fight between Will Smith and Anthony Perkins erupted. Will Smith almost threw Anthony Perkins out of the train car's window but Anthony grabbed the window frame and stopped his fall to the moving ground below. In a magazine, I saw a picture panel dealing with the aforementioned fight scene, complete with a close-up of Anthony Perkin's face and the fear that it held. The magazine commented that he as "Norman Bates" in Psycho would never had flinched in such a situation and pointed to this as one of the fundamental flaws of the movie Wild, Wild West.

Two men hopped into a convertible car and sped away. They drove around a couple of trash cans and through a garage opening in a downtown store front. They drove the car up on a yellow and black skid -- like a hydraulic ramp at automobile repair shops. Sparks erupted. The car stood nearly upright when metal straps engaged and locked the front tires to the ramp. The ramp leveled horizontally and entered the car through the wall and into a new and previously hidden area of the garage. One of the guys began to "act up," which prompted someone with a gun to shoot out the fluorescent lights one by one. My perspective changed to that of the other guy who had entered this garage in the convertible car. I sat huddled against a wall near the car as the garage became more and more dark. I held a small metal rod but I was very afraid -- I had a feeling the other guy's antics would draw some negative attention and probably get him killed. In the shadows, I watched a guy in a robe walk out of a doorway and down a few steps. He held a katana in his hand and proceeded in the direction of the guy causing the ruckus. In the next room, I heard the sword unsheathed, followed by a dull thud against the concrete floor. I presumed it was the deceased body of the man from the convertible car. I heard the sword re-sheathed and watched the man return to the doorway from which he came. I went back into the room and saw the decapitated body being carried away.

I watched a group of women walk through another doorway -- a screen door of sorts. They appeared to be Asian escorts. The last woman was of Caucasian descent and seemed about forty-ish in age. She showed me around the premises as I walked with her. She asked me what I ate "on the surface" -- I think she was referring to the world beyond this garage area -- and asked if I did drugs. I replied that I ate a variety of foods and that I did not use drugs. She lightly grasped my forearm and asked of me rather enthusiasticly if I ate Mexican food. Again I replied in the affirmative, adding that I liked Italian food as well. We walked through a storage area containing Asian food supplies. I pointed out various items on the shelves that I was fond of eating. I asked her if the food was authetic Asian food. She replied that the meals consisted of foods from different regions, so it was not completely authentic -- as an example, she pointed to some noodles that were mixed in a small white plastic bowl with something else. We watched an elderly woman make a dish. I asked the escort to tell the elderly woman that I wish I could enjoy the wonderful dish she was preparing. After the translation was completed, the elderly woman smiled slightly and bowed. I returned the gesture.

I found a table that I was supposed to sit at within this food storage area and sat down. Some other men sat around this table, wondering aloud what would happen next to the group. A few men acted like "tough guys," with the feeling that their bravado could handle whatever would come their way, despite the uncertainity of an impending event that would involve all of us at this table. The dish on the table had blue thirty-two ounce cups, which faced open end outward around the edge of the plate. The food item of noodles rested atop these cups.

"TAPESTRAL BRIDGE"

I stood in a small art gallery with the current Queen of England and her husband. There was a commotion outside. Someone directed me to some art pieces, which hung on the walls of a large church. These art pieces had replaced typical church wall artifacts. It bordered on scandalous for some.

During a large church service, I walked with a small group along a suspended, winding walkway that led away from the front area of this church. Composed of large, ornately-embroidered tapestries, the suspended walkway -- suspended about four feet above the floor -- reminded me of a bridge. Some areas along the walkway seemed more durable than others. I watched as others before me found the durable areas and proceeded forward. I followed their lead, gaining more and more confidence as I traversed this walkway, albeit cautiously.

The small group made its way outside. I noticed a train and several moving vans near the group and stop. I walked up to the rear doors of a van and peered inside. The group inside of the van wanted me to give them a "pep talk."

"HASTY TUXEDO"

I was late for a graduation ceremony. With great haste, I put my tuxedo on. A small packet with the tuxedo contained small plastic beads, in addition to the obligatory cufflinks and lapel buttons. I was puzzled because I had no idea how to wear them. They reminded me of merit badge items for the Boy Scouts, with holes in the center to be placed together on a plastic string. I asked someone how I was supposed to wear the plastic beads.

"THWARTED"

I walked toward the back door of an unlit house at night -- it seemed to be midnight or later. I noticed two men, hunched over, trying to get my 27-inch television through the doorway. Somehow, I subdued them and alerted the local authorities. I looked around and saw other items of mine -- electronics and stereo equipment -- piled up, part of their potential heist.

"CORPOREALITY"

A young woman stood over me as I sat on a toilet seat inside of a restroom stall. She was hunched over, preparing to straddle me in a seductive manner. I looked down at the floor and noticed shoes in the adjacent stalls. Despite my fear of "getting caught," my attention quickly shifted back to the young woman. I reached up and caressed the inside of her legs -- she was bare from the waist down -- with the back of my hand, making a gentle sweep. She continued to stand above me, accepting my slow, crescent-shaped passes. Her quiet breaths were very audible to me; I felt the excitement of it all wash over me.

"NETHER DESCENT / PRUDENCE"

I was in a shadowy nether world looking for someone. When I called out his name, I heard a faint reply from him. I moved myself downward somehow, as if I were passing through dimensions, going from dark room to dark room. Finally, I sat on a small dark stairway. I called out his name. When he responded, he was only a few feet below me on the stairway. I ran down the steps and embraced him, happy to have found him in the darkness. I walked out from this nether world and into the sunset, hand-in-hand with he and a young woman -- it seemed like a triumphant movie ending.

I met two guys on the side of the road. I rode with them in a van somewhere. One of the guys showed me a picture. It had a blurry, watery effect to it. I asked him if it was a regular picture of something that naturally looked like that or if it was digitally-enhanced, via a computer graphics program. He informed me it was just a normal camera shot.

I entered a dormitory with the two guys and we proceeded up several flights of steps. Someone had -- somehow -- parked their car on a flight of steps. We walked around it. As we turned to go up the next flight of steps, we saw another car, except it was under the steps -- it was visible because these steps were akin to bleacher steps.

I ended up in a young woman's dorm room. She had dark, shoulder-length hair and was very pretty. In the midst of conversation, she spilt some water on the carpeting. I helped her clean it up and tried to lighten up the mood with a humorous demeanor -- she seemed to appreciate the help and the humor. Her roommate also helped, using a DirtVac vacuum on the wet carpet.

We watched a movie together. I heard some knocks on their door. A young man and woman entered and watched the movie with us. I went into the bathroom and saw that a personal computer was set up in it -- the bathroom seemed an odd place for a computer. I returned to watch the movie and heard another knock at the door. It was the young woman's counselor and I was not supposed to be in the room because visiting hours had expired. I tried to make my way into the kitchen area, ducking under a drawn curtain but the counselor saw me. I told the young woman I would leave. I figured that I would be saying goodnight to the young woman but she asked if she could come with me to my place.

We returned to my place and it appeared that my roommates were out for the evening. I wondered if she would want to spend the night. If that was her wish, I would give her my bed to sleep in and I would take the couch. I did not wish to rush anything between us.

"IF LOOKS COULD KILL"

I stood in a small, rectangular-shaped room with white walls. I stood at one end of the room, while a group of people stood at the other end. The group held some kind of animosity toward me -- perhaps throwing items at me -- but my physical presence kept them together on the other side of this room. From a doorway to my left -- the only one in this room I believe -- someone or something tried to throw some paint cans at me. My out-stretched hand, accompanied with a cold stare, halted the attack.

"MUNICIPAL LANDING"

I stood on a city sidewalk and looked up at the sky. I watched a Concorde jet fly over my head, just above the skyscraper buildings. I watched its altitude drop. The jet proceeded to fly under an underpass or bridge. It landed safely on a busy street or highway as if it were landing on a landing strip -- it did so without any damage to it or to any vehicles. With shock on my face, I looked at others standing near me. Their expressions suggested that this was not such an uncommon occurrence.

"CLINGING"

I hung upside-down from a 2 x 16 ceiling rafter, with my leg slung over the beam and my hands clasped over the beam, thus holding my body parallel with the beam -- sort of sloth-style. The room rotated on its axis 180 degrees. As the room turned slowly, I braced my hand against the ceiling so I would not fall. Someone standing on the floor watched my precarious position and told me to be careful. The room completed its 180 degree rotation, with me safely sitting atop the 2 x 16 beam and the ceiling.

"DOWNHILL TROUGH"

I saw two cars at the starting line of a dragster racing strip. Prematurely, one car launched off of a wooden platform and lost control down its racing lane. It slammed into a brand new motorcycle parked out in the grass. I walked around the stands and tried to get back to the main concourse.

I noticed a steep grassy hill with a wooden "trough" leading to the bottom. The wooden "trough" had two wooden walls, about a foot high, and were a few feet apart from one another -- with grass making up the bottom area. I decided to climb into the wooden "trough" and slowly made my way -- feet first -- down the hill. Toward the bottom of my descent, the hill became quite steep and I was afraid that I might slip, fall, and hurt myself. I decided to climb back up the hill. I noticed some nails in the wooden walls that were not nailed all the way into the wood, so I was careful not to snag myself on them.

Once I reached the top of the hill, I was not able to get out of the wooden "trough" by myself. Since I did not want to fall down the hill, I cried out for someone to help me. Someone heard me and went to get more people to help pull me off of the hill.

"ESCHER"

Either I ran down or up several flights of steps. I seemed to be racing ahead of someone, trying to get to a destination first. I ran around the stair corners, clinging to the stairwell and using that momentum to propel me faster. Eventually, I jumped over the stairwell to hasten my pace -- I believe I flew around the steps too. My lead increased. At the end of what seemed to be an endless flight of steps, I entered a house and several of its rooms. I wandered from room to room, but I did not find what had propelled me with such haste to reach this destination first.